I Can't Believe It's Not Chicken!I've been eating strictly vegan for several years and decided to accept Tsur's "Beyond Meat" tasting challenge.I brought home a pint of each of Whole Foods' prepared dishes (from the cold case): a spicy broccoli stir fry and a curry something or other.The fake chicken in the stir fry was really convincing. The chew, the way it comes apart in strands, and even the flavor were remarkably chickenesque. I'd say it's 90% accurate, all things considered. It even made me a little nostalgic for my omnivorous days. The fake chicken in the curry dish had the aforementioned attributes, but was really tough. It must have been overcooked, because it was distinctly tougher and more dry than the other dish.Neither dish had a very good sauce, so if they sell it in virgin form, I'd recommend cooking it yourself.

Dairylander wrote:I Can't Believe It's Not Chicken!I've been eating strictly vegan for several years and decided to accept Tsur's "Beyond Meat" tasting challenge.

Dairylander, I can't decide if I'm more grateful to you for trying the product or for posting on topic. Either way, thanks!

I've tried the WH deli dishes once more since I first posted and agree with your assessment. The stir fry is better. I even kind of like the sauce. But I'm hoping that WH is doing the product an injustice and the it's better than how they prepare it. I feel like it might be a suitable chicken analogue, but I just can't tell.

There was an interesing call-in show on WPR, recently, that discussed approaches to moving toward a vegan diet. When the subject of packaged meat subsitutes came up, the response seemed to be that these may be useful for newbies in the short term –– and possibly for meat-eaters who have no intention to migrate to a meatless or low-meat diet.

The food cost vs nutrition will always be exorbitant for these products. (That's why they exist, after all.) And the distraction of thinking of food in terms of meat is no help to people who are trying to discover (or re-discover) more practical and interesting ways of eating.

fennel wrote:The food cost vs nutrition will always be exorbitant for these products. (That's why they exist, after all.) And the distraction of thinking of food in terms of meat is no help to people who are trying to discover (or re-discover) more practical and interesting ways of eating.

Beyond Meant is trying to be different. For one thing, their aim is to be less expensive than chicken or other meats. For another, they're not just going after vegetarians or vegans. They want meat eaters to regularly eat their products.

I'm not saying that they'll succeed, but that's their goal. Their financial backers are the founders of Twitter. They're out to change the world, not just make a meat substitute.

Over the holidays I handed out samples to my family.The consensus was positive. One thought it was a bit unsatisfying. Another asked where to buy it.I think it could be an effective methadone for someone trying to get off meat, but I probably won't buy it again.

I tried it again yesterday for the first time since Christmas.Whole Paycheck had a yellowish dish of chopped Beyond Meat that I'd never seen before.I woke up at midnight with a terrible stomach ache.Granted, it could have been the weird sauce, but it was bad enough that I've sworn off the stuff forever.